people have to realize that when a republican gets to washington or democrat gets to washington, most of their policy will be party policy. these independents that say, i am undecided are not undecided. they either follow the democratic policy or the republican policy. to say you are an independent -- i cannot understand where that are coming from. host: that was william in florida. this is the front page of "the baltimore sun." "the washington times." "debate is not the last word on presidential race." host: "washington times." keisha is undecided. caller: i was disappointed in the president. i wanted to hear more about the health care plan. i did some research about his health care plan. he had a health-care plan back in 2010. all obamacare people will have to get a chip implanted. i wanted mitt romney to ask him about that. i thought mitt romney did a great job about explaining himself and the economy. neither candidate brought the comment about each other. i'm waiting for the next debate. i voted for john mccain. host: what do you do in pittsburgh? caller: i am a nurse. host: are

"washington journal" is next. ♪ >> good morning and welcome to "washington journal." as campaign 2012 hits its final month, the presidential candidates are using the economy to frame their vision for the future and what they would do for the american dream. we saw a jobs numbers that showed an unproven unemployment rate. we would like to hear your opinions. has the american dream been downsized? you can also share your opinion on social media. send us a tweet by writing @cspanwj. you can also join the conversation on facebook. or you can e-mail us. the front page of "the washington post"looks out with the call life of a salesman. he always finds to -- he always seems to find optimism in the worst of circumstances. here is another chance. the story profiles this man building and installing pools. how he had to downsize his business, cut employees, and work even harder to find jobs. let's take a look at the content. it says -- what do you think? has the picture of the american dream changed? national journal took a look it how americans are perceiving the economic situa

he did not change the tone of washington. he did not make good on any of the promises he made coming into the white house. also remember for the first two years of his presidency, he had a huge majority in the house of democrats. he had a huge majority in the senate. at one point, it was even filibuster-proof. did he cut spending? no. he did not do any of these things. for the following two years, he still had a majority in the senate. things have gotten tougher for him in the house, but it is not like -- he ran everything. he ran the whole town. he could have gotten things done. the knock against him mitt romney made about how he put all his eggs into obamacare instead of fixing other things is a smart avenue. for people to turn this into race, i would argue those who think this is about race and people not liking somebody because of the color of their skin, i think those people should look in the mirror and ask themselves who is being racist, who is the one trying to bully an election based on the color of someone's skin. h

outside of washington, we want to -- we will stay inside washington for this first call. caller: think you so much. the leadership and our country is acting with incredible shocking responsibility, with co2 levels that are clearly affecting the climate. and it is also surprising that the democratic campaign has not pushed that mitt romney is saying he will approve the keystone pipeline on its first day in office. this is the dirtiest form of petroleum. it seems to have an alberta pipeline from alberta to texas. we are not getting off of our addiction it to oil. it causes cancers and other diseases. there will continue exploring for oil offshore, in the gulf, and that is just absolute treason against prosperity. host: the former president was in minnesota yesterday a. here's what yet to say typing the storm to climate change. >> in the first debate, the triumph of a the moderates. the remember what he did? he ridiculed the president. for his efforts to fight global warming and economically -- in economically beneficial ways. he said he will turn back to sea. and in my part

"washington journal." and live coverage of the funeral of former presidential candidates george mcgovern. in 45 minutes we will focus on this year's campaign in wisconsin. our guests are craig gilbert, and mikehimming, tate. we will also look and housing policy and home construction at 9:15 eastern with raemeka mayo of the census bureau and a representative from the fiscal times. host: good morning, october 26. president obama and mitt romney are on target to raise $1 billion each with their respective parties by election day. more recent numbers show romney outraising the president in early october. if the washington post endorsed president obama today even with their eyes open to the disappointment of his time in office, it says. a clear politics survey shows mitt romney with a 0.9% edge. a new associated press poll shows at the same time mitt romney has erased president obama's support among women, the president has eliminated romney's support among men. our first 45 minutes this morning takes a look at

a couple of other headlines we want to share with the from "the washington post." >> now, from washington journal, this is 40 minutes. mcdonald. early voting under way in half of the country. we keep saying 12 days to election day or one week ago in the campaign. guest: over 12 million people have already cast their ballot. it will really ramp up this week. we will see probably somewhere between 20 million and 30 million people cast their ballots. we really are getting very close to election day. a large number of people will be voting over the next week. host: we remember the hanging chads and making sure the ballots were counted. ohio could be the florida of 2012, potentially. why? guest: if it is very close in ohio, which could we do not just a recount, ohio has a large number of provisional ballots. they use provisional ballots to deal with address transfers. the election officials want to make sure people are not voting twice. they have the individuals cast a provisional ballot. we will see over 100,000 of those types of ballots. in addition, we have a large number of people that hav

"washington journal" is next. ♪ host: good morning, look into "washington journal." -- welcome to "washington journal." president obama and governor romney square off today in florida for the last debate of 2012. what would you like the moderator to ask the candidates? we would like to hear from you this morning, what are your foreign policy questions? here are the numbers to call -- host: you can also find as online. look for us on twitter, journal@c-span.org -- twitter, twitter.com/c-spanwj. we have a special hash tag set up. we are also on facebook, look for c-span. you can also reach us by e- mail, journal@c-span.org. what would you like to see the candidates asked tonight in the last debate of campaign 2012? "final debate, particularly big." host: looking at the washington -- "the washington times," obama leads as romney loses ground, but gop voters are more enthusiastic. "if the presidential election were held today, for whom would you vote"? this poll shows obama at 49.7%, romney at 47.3%. the mitt romney first debate bounce has disappeared, though the survey shows that the mitt romney

"washington journal" is next. ♪ host: good morning, welcome to "washington journal." president obama went to fema headquarters in washington yesterday to speak with the director of fema about preparations for hurricane sandy, which is threatening the east coast. the president's reelection campaign has changed its schedule for the next few days. so has the mitt romney campaign. the romney senior adviser says there are staying in touch with state officials and visiting states not directly impacted by the storm. and we would like to hear what you think the impact of hurricane sandy is shaping up to be on campaign 2012. the numbers to call -- host: you can also find this online through social media. send a sick twitter message, twitter.com/c-spanwj. or you can join the conversation on facebook. look for c-span and way in there. you can also e mail us, journal@c-span.org. starting with "the baltimore sun" -- "the candidates crack -- preciously sought to close the deal with voters as this year's surprise, not a storm, laid waste to their best played -- best laid plans." hos

host: it aris in washington -- airs in washington. where else can people listen if they don't live in washington? >> is available on a number of platforms. yuka listen to us on xm satellite radio, channel 119. and if you have a smartphone, you can find our apps. and you can dial in and listen to our station on the phone and online at c-span.org/org. in the d.c. area, on 90.1 fm. and we are on hd radio 1. when the house and senate are in session, you can hear the house live on hd 2 o and 2 on hd 3. host: thank you so much, nancy calo paris it is the 15th anniversary of c-span radio. we will be right back. >> this month as the presidential candidates meet for debate, as the middle and high school students to send a message to the president as part of this year's student cam video documentary competition. students will answer the question -- what is the most important issue the president should consider in 2013? a chance to win a grand prize of $5,000. the competition is open to students from grades 6 through grade 12. for complete detai

i would like to say thank you for washington journal -- "washington journal," where a citizen can come on and voice their opinion and not get rich to pieces. ped.ip i am register in a third party. the only registered i am not voting for her is because i am afraid it will take away from rock obama, who i am going to voted 4. i will become more -- it will take votes away from barack obama, who i am going to vote for. 52 million who will be voting in the coming weeks, if 90 million would go out and voted, the third party would have a chance to make a mark. the whole electoral college and the popular vote and the redistricting -- why doesn't have to be so complicated? guest: one of the founders of fair voted was john anderson, who ran for president. he was the chair before i was. i have the privilege of working with john. he is still on our board. i have gotten to know him. i love the man. moderate republican from illinois. he's under -- the u.s. house from 1960 19to 80. -- from 1960 to acting 80. -- to 1980. a lot of liberal democrats will not voted because they feel they are voting their

in the "washington times" this morning -- these e-mails were obtained by the washington times. and an update on a story we told you about yesterday, a high court hearing oral arguments about the affirmative action case. the university of texas at austin being challenged by abigail fisher about how they admit their students. this is what richard wolfe and mary beth write -- if you are interested in the audio of the oral arguments, it will be released by the court on friday after 1:00 p.m. c-span.org to find out when we will be airing that on friday. jimmy is an independent scholar. where are you from? caller: north carolina. host: what do you think about the vice-presidential debate? caller: well, i think the vice presidential debate matters. the politics have become like a consumer item in how we package the product and substance does not really matter. everything that happens before the election counts. i wish the american people would just look and see what happened with the the previous republican administration and look at all the things that the present republican nominee

"washington journal" continues. host: jonathan turley is a law professor at george washington university law school. thank you for being here. you had a recent column in the "the usa today" -- end the electoral college. lay out your argument. guest: many people do not realize that the framers were divided on electing a president by popular vote. two of our founders, james madison and james wilson argued that we should elect a president, but it became a mix. there were many framers that also liked the idea of representative democracy, to have this group of elders, this line of educated and propertied individuals making these decisions. neither of those are compelling in today's world. the most important reason is the electoral college universally produces dysfunction. ever since we put this ill- concedes institution in place, we have had these problems and they're getting worse. most countries that we associate with have some form of direct election. even vladimir putin is directly elected. hugo chavez is directly el

"washington journal"is next. host: in the headlines this morning -- from the weekend edition of the "wall street journal," economy grows at 2% pace. consumers, government spending, powered third-quarter gains, but growth likely to slow down. and that's what we want to talk to you about for the first 45 minutes of this edition of the "washington journal." good morning. today is saturday, october 27. we want to talk to you about your optimism or pessimism about the economy. things getting better? things getting worse? are you doing all right? could you be doing better? we want to talk to you about the economy, your optimism, and your pessimism in terms of your personal economy and not necessarily how you feel the candidates will do, what they might do for the economy once they get elected. 202-585-3881 for republicans. for democrats, 202-585-3880. for independents, 202-585-3882. and you can also reach out to us via social media. the address on twitter, @spanwj. facebook.com/cspan. and email, journal@c-span.org. mor

front page of the washington times. mitt romney has crossed a major threshold, moving above 50% in his favorability ratings. and for the first time he leaves president obama on about measure of favorability. and back to the wall street journal on money. the gop nominee and super pacs backing him will spend about 55 million this week, up from 40 million two weeks ago. mr. obama and democrats will spend roughly $33 million, up from $24.7 million two weeks ago. most of the pro-romney spending comes from outside groups. which do not get the lower, favorable rates for air time that stations, by law must offer to candidates. so that is how much money is going to be spent. this week compared to the last two weeks on ads in this campaign 2012. a quick update on that senate race in virginia, the "baltimore sun," senate slugfest comes down to the wire between the two former governors, tim kaine and john allen. voters have barely budged after a relentless 18 months of battling. they are singing the race is too close to call. and t

that is the "washington times." let me show you the "washington post" headline on early voting. g.o.p. improve its showing in early voting. republicans performing better than in 2008 though still lag lined democrats in -- behind democrats in nevada, iowa, north carolina, florida, et cetera. the battle ground states which is our focus and has been on the "washington journal" looking at those nine swing states. deep dive into the states talking to people on the ground there and what they will see on election night, what they can expect and what is the tenor of the campaigns in those states. we will continue with that today with a focus being on colorado coming up in about five minutes or so. we will keep taking your phone calls about the trust in government during natural disasters. hal is next from florida, republican. caller: i have lived on the beach all my life in florida and hurricanes have come through and we had to evacuate many times. i remember in hurricane dora when i was about 5 years old having to leave the house and the hurricane went through, destroyed homes, the gov

"washington journal" is next. ♪ host: good morning, welcome to "washington journal." the democratic and republican presidential candidates are preparing for tomorrow night's town hall debate. as we head towards the second of three presidential debates this month, a new poll of voters say they want more information from the candidates. we want to hear from undecided voters this morning. here are the numbers to call -- host: you can also find us on social media. send us a tweet, twitter.com/c- spanwj. you can also find the conversation on facebook, or you can e-mail us at journal@c- span.org. "the washington post's" has new information from a new poll -- the washington post" has new information from a new poll. looking at the opposite of that statistic, here is a question format, "how much more questions -- how much more -- how many more questions you have for the candidates"? the first debate, it was 32%. the number was greater before the convention. while it has shrunk, it is still about one-quarter of the populace. what information are you lacking if you make your de

from "the washington post" -- at times, mr. joe biden struck us as condescending. >> that is the "washington post " leading editorial. the next call comes from ed in cleveland, ohio. caller: this is ted. i am a supporter of mitt romney. what i would like to say is what i watched last night several times joe biden had to interrupt him left and right, and that seems condescending. when joe biden said "finding what i say," i would like to heard paul ryan say does that mean you meant when you stood in front of people "i want to put you all in chains." that is it. thank you for c-span. host: another call from all file this morning. deborah. -- call from ohio this morning. deborah. caller: i am definitely an obama supporter. it comes down to planned parenthood. when i was 20 i found myself single and pregnant, and i went to planned parenthood, and they helped me figure out a bird plan, how to get a car seat, a gynecologist birth plan, how to get a car seat, which it birth plan, a gynecologist -- birth plan, a gynecologist, a car seat

guest: people are watching this extremely closely in connecticut and in washington. about a year ago, national republicans are not giving this raised the time of day. but they will tell you now that linda has run a very strong campaign, and they think this is serious. host: this is the first time she has ran. is she running a different campaign than the last time? guest: she has a completely different team. one thing that is similar from

this story from the washington post. plan would do little to lower tax rates. -- wilmington, delaware. dave on our line for democrats. caller: thank you for taking my call. a want to make two comments. first of all, in the last vice presidential debate, the moderator seem to have more control from the fact that the men were sitting at a table. and that close proximity to -- i gather that the attention to the moderator was better, versus the first debate were there was a distance between the speakers. and jim lehrer had much more trouble trying to control the debate. the second thing come on the first debate jim lehrer was asking each of the candidates to speak about the differences that they feel that they have with the other candidate. and sort of a different type of question, much more interruption. host: what you think of the choice of the four moderators? bobb and mandy coming up? >> fantastic. and i look forward to the town hall format. which gets more of the town hall and a bald. host: that is wilmington, delaware.

here are the headlines from "the washington times." read to you a little bit from the story, "mitt romney on monday will accuse the obama administration of fundamentally misunderstanding the threat of radical islam." host: that address is coming up at 11:20 today. we want to know what you think these candidates should talk about, or what mitt romney should specifically address in his speech and what foreign- policy issues you think he needs to talk about more on the campaign trail. already getting reaction from facebook this morning. host: just below that, eleanor rights -- host: we want to get to your calls this morning, start calling in now. we have -- we will read to you a few more articles from this speech. "mitt romney strives to stand apart in global policy." host: again, that speech is happening at about 11:20 this morning. we will take our first call on this from clinton, illinois. matt is waiting on the independent line. good morning. caller: mitt romney needs to go after the whole libya at incident. he may have made a few mis

"washington journal" is next . host: good morning and welcome to washington journal on this tuesday, october 2, 2012. president obama and former governor mitt romney are in final preparations for tomorrow night's debate at the university of denver, the first time the candidates will square off in the race for the white house. c-span will air the debate live tomorrow night. we would like to hear what your plans are for tomorrow night's debate. why would you be watching or by night? here are the numbers to call -- -- why will you be watching or why not? you can also join the conversation on social media. send us a tweet or join the conversation on facebook. you can also e-mail us. the "washington times looks at presidential debates, who watches and what they gain for it -- from it. we would like to hear from you this morning, your take on watching presidential debates and this one in particular happening tomorrow. here is the headline from the denver post -- the school is getting ready for the national spotlight as i

for this next segment of the washington journal. as big a reaction to last night's final presidential debate, we want to switch to swing state voters. we want to hear from you. the states that are still in the mix. you know who you are, florida, virginia, ohio, wisconsin, iowa, nevada, michigan, pennsylvania somewhat. new hampshire. those are some of the swing states. if you are and they swing state voters, you know it. you are just seeing candidates advertised. you can see the numbers on the screen. the same numbers. you are on mitt romney a supporter, 202-585-3881. obama's a border -- 202-585- 3880. we are hopefully getting a our third line. if you have another candidate or another point of view, not a mitt romney or obama point of view, if you have another point of view, we of that third line open third 202-585-3882. if you are supporting one of the two main candidates, do not use that line. so we can get a different point of view. from the hill newspaper, obama horses and bayonets debate, at tops twitter chatter. the topic was t

nobody in washington can stop this. what's going to happen ultimately is we are not calling to be able to afford all of these -- the american government does wonderful things for people. i am on food stamps myself. and i understand there are times when we need these things. but when we become more and more bankrupt, which we already are, we will begin to afford these things less and less. anyway, that's what i feel is happening ultimately is that obama does not understand and the american voters don't understand that clearly. host: from the hill newspaper -- next call comes from tonya in martinsburg, west virginia, on our independent or others line. caller: good morning. i did not like president obama's answer when it came to the ak- 47's. the man in colorado had just left medical school, so he had access to great education. and the fort hood shooter was a psychiatrist. he had access to a great education. the white supremacist who shot up the indian temple, he had access to great education. for president obama to throw

is "the washington post." that is how it is shaping up among women according to the polls. we want to turn to you because the candidates are targetting ladies. they want your vote. we want to hear from ladies only this morning for the first 45 minutes. from virginia, supporting president obama, why? caller: first of all, i am a retired school nurse and a retired adjunct professor. since president obama says he is standing for the rights of women, i support him on that issue. it agreed to me when -- it grieved when candidate rawness of 46 -- 47% of the people -- candidate romney said 47% of the people did not matter. when he said that we were written off, i worked and the money went to social security and that's what i am relying on. even now, the money that we use is for medication and to take care of my husband and daughter. it was very offensive the way romney stood and disrespect to the position of our president at the debate. host: were you for president obama before those comments? caller: ask, i was. i h

-- "washington journal," today. "united states secretary of state, hillary clinton, says she takes responsibility for the security at the diplomatic outpost in the gauzy, libya, where christopher stevens and three others died in the attacks last month. she said it is like a big family and that it is painful, absolutely painful. monday she also accepted the blame, adding that the security there is her job, not that of the white house. her comments come as mitt romney criticized the obama administration for its handling of the security before the attack by extremists and the explanation afterwards. she also spoke in advance of the second presidential debate, which will occur tonight. we will see if mitt romney brings up that issue in tonight's debate. going back to the phones, julie is from "the bronx." how have the debates influenced your election? caller: thank you for taking my call. i just want to school people, whoever is listening, how should i say this? when they have obama leading by 49%? with mitt romney behi

there's a lot going for us. >> "washington journal" continues. host: ann coulter is with us this morning. she has a new book out. number 9. it is called -- "mugged: racial demagoguery from the seventies to obama." we will talk with her about that. the starting point, what do where do think the presidential race is right now? guest: i think mitt romney is looking good. he was clearly the most threatening of the presidential candidates. i think he is the strongest against president obama. it is curious, for example, that there were 70 million viewers of that debate the other night. the highest it has been since 1992, the last time an incumbent was taken out. i think people are uncomfortable with obama. if they are not political nuts like we are, the have not been paying attention. have not been watching all of the debates and just want to see the challenger is and whether they are comfortable with him. after wednesday night, i think everybody is pretty comfortable with mitt romney. host: i was reading back on your twitter feed. dating back to febru

"washington journal" continues. host: on wednesdays, during our last hour of "washington journal," we take a look at a magazine article. this is the cover story of "cq weekly." "politicians looking for a solution to medicare's woes." you talked about the debate between the president and its, and governor romney saying that president obama, you are putting money from medicare, the president saying, no, i am saving money for medicare. which is it? guest: it is of both, and that is what is tricky about the debates right now. both governor romney and president obama are saying "i am going to save the medicare and the other guy is going to end id." romney says he will do it through cuts, and obama says that he adopt the premium support plan, that will bring about the end of medicare. host: what is at present, doing about medicare? -- what is president obama doing about medicare? guest: a lot of it is included in the health care plans, and the reduced payments to providers and medicare plan s that president obama used to

what man cannot change washington. we as a people have to change washington. we have to support our president whether -- whoever it may be. whether it is obama or mitt romney. if we do not stand behind him and whatever bills he has going to congress will be thought out anyway. host: have you made up your mind about who you will vote for? caller: i am still in the balance at the moment. host: what fact are you looking for that will help you make a decision? caller: we are watching the debates back and forth. who is better and who can do more. the fact is, what is going to be done? we have heard all of these promises. i am still pretty sure all 43 presidents have not accomplished everything they sat in office to accomplish. host: in the new york times, it is national polling. it is gallop verses the rest. george is on the line for democrats. he is calling from miami, florida. caller: good morning. you are absolutely right. you can never watched enough c- span. as a matter of fact, a couple of months ago before i made my statement, i remember watching the show th

"washington journal" is next. ♪ host: good morning. you may want to call this endorsement sunday with a number of newspapers issuing their support for president obama and gov. romney. the toledo blade, it endorses the president. in iowa, pledging their support for mitt romney. the white house announcing the president has canceled a planned event in virginia tomorrow. the returning to monitor hurricane at sandy. the president will join president clinton and a monday afternoon campaign appearance. mitt romney has scrubbed his appearances today, instead spending the next two days in ohio. just over one week ago in the campaign. we will be talking about early voting on "the washington journal." we want to begin with the what this question. what if it is not decided on election day? what if there is a recount or multiple recounts? let's begin with some news of the morning. the front page of "the new york times. marty it is now counted by county. -- it is now county by county. there is also this from "the washington post." va. even as being

"the washington post." irving, texas, hello. caller: morning. nice to talk to you and thank you for cspan. i'm calling in regards to my job status. please bear with me. i had a debilitating stroke in 2009. i am going through rehabilitation. my juppe called me -- my job called me and said my job and communications was out. i was not able to completely rehabilitate. i am among the 47% of the people that mitt romney calls losers. i worked my entire life, just had a stroke. i'm going to go back to school now and become a guidance counselor. hopefully i could do that in a motorized wheelchair. host: why did you pick that industry? caller: i am 49 years old. as a young teenager, i have had my experiences. i was on drugs but i am no longer on drugs. from a teenager, it can affect your whole life if you make bad choices. i have made mistakes in my latest 20's and early 20's. primarily, i was a marijuana smoker. host: if you are a drug counselor, do you think you will find sustainable unemployment -- sustainable on

democratic caller, washington, dc. caller: question for obama, why does he not say anything or do anything about the jail population being minority, blacks, more than anyone else in this country? all the nationalities got reparations when mistreated by this come tree, but black folks, we of the first in all those atrocities and obama says nothing. he is african-american. and for mr. romney, i want to know why you feel we need to give israel so much money and they give us nothing in return? they occupy, just like south africa during apartheid. 9/11, the question has not been answered yet. no one has come to obama's defense about 9/11. we have a whole lot of questions that have to be answered. thank you. host: bob, nev., republican line. caller: the main question i have for him is experience and leadership scoot -- leadership skills. and for president obama, the lack of experience and leadership. the other important thing is the lack of enforcement of u.s. law. along the border we had two people shot yesterday. one man d

"washington journal" is next. host: on this monday morning we want to get your take on the vice-presidential nominees jill biden and paul ryan and paul ryan. will they impact your votes in november? here are the numbers to call -- a couple other ways to get involved in the program, twitter and facebook. or you can send an e-mail. we look forward to talking to you. here's the front page of the new york times -- their first debate is wednesday, so they are laying low today. that gives us a chance to check in with you on the vice presidential candidates. here are some of the weekend's events with paul ryan and vice president biden on the weekend from the papers in florida. one headline -- and this story in the boston herald -- that the play on words to the new hampshire state motto. just a sprinkling of the weekend coverage. here's a piece on paul ryan and joseph biden. [video clip] >> they voted against extending the middle class tax cuts. why? because they were holding it hostage to make sure they could continue th

washington journal life is next. -- "washington journal" live is next. ♪ host: good morning, a live look at the capitol this sunday morning. we are one day before the third and final presidential debate on the campus. voters across the country being inundated with ads in the congressional races, statewide .aces as well as the campu it is to the days before the november 6 elections. it is sunday november 21. welcome to the washington journal. our phone lines are open. newspaper -- do they matter? as always, our phone lines are open. we also have our twitter page and our facebook page. we will share comments with you as well. or send us an e-mail. the christian science monitor on its website has the question "stop the presses, a tally of endorsements." newspaper endorsements may not mean as much as they did when the press and vote in the on paper. around the country, newspapers are starting to weigh in on the major presidential candidates in campaign 2012. tell us what you think. do newspaper endorsements make a difference? give us a call. it can also send us an e-mail or join us on the tw

this is an hour and 20 minutes. >> "washington journal" -- we are focusing on key battleground states in campaign 2012. today the spotlight is the keystone state, pennsylvania. joining us from harrisburg is terry madonna, with the center politics at franklin and marshall college. thank you for being with us. guest: good morning. host: let me begin with a broad overview of the political geography of pennsylvania, the comparison between east and west. guest: first of all, like any battleground state, you have large parts are ready, large parts that are blue. if you take a look at the western part of the state, the southwest particularly, the counties surrounding it, once you leave the pittsburgh metropolitan area, which is democratic, you run into the old mining and miltown areas where coal and steel and lead and paint and glass -- all those industries that may pennsylvania economy dominate, in particular steel and coal, over the course of about 40 years after world war ii, those industries went away. the economy suffered and suffered severely. the voters out there are typically democra

. >> "washington journal" continues. host: we are highlighting key battleground states of campaign 2012. today we put a spotlight on iowa. joining us from des moines is a senior political writer with the associated press, mike glover. what is the economy like in the iowa? guest: the economy is probably better than the rest of the country. it's not great, but we have not suffered the depths of the recession that some other parts of the country have. the economy is less of an issue than it is in many other places around. basically because the farm economy is pretty good this year. commodity prices aren't up, land prices -- commodity prices are up as well as land prices. so there's not a lot of economic uncertainty. host: what are the top issues that iowa voters are thinking? guest: it depends on what group you are talking to. on the republican side, the topics they are talking about are the social issues. that's very important. it has driven republican politics in the state increasingly. they care lot about social issues.

"washington journal" continues. . host: for the past week and continuing this week, we have been looking at the 9 swing states and hold the keys to the election. today we put a spotlight on the state of new hampshire. the small state in the northeast corner holding four leapt laurel votes. right now its unemployment rate for september, 5.7%. president obama won the state by a large margin in 2008 with 9%. neil levesque is the executive director of the new hampshire institute of politics, joining us this morning from manchester. let's begin with top issues for new hampshire voters. guest: good morning from new hampshire. before i start, i want to thank c-span and congratulate c-span radio on 15 great years being on the air. it has been a very valuable resource for some of us in civics. a great resource. in new hampshire, we are a swing states. four electoral votes. it sounds like a small number, with 538, but if al gore had won those of for your votes, he would become president. so they are very important. this state i

"washington journal" continues. > host: sean tonner is joining us from denver this morning. this is the financial times this morning showing it is pretty even, 47.8% for each candidate. the some are showing governor romney ahead. the denver post notes that obama has been to the state more than any president in four years. he carried in by a large number in 2008. however republicans responding? guest: particularly since the first debate, i think republicans are very energized right now. getting out and respond in, and you're also seeing record visits by the republican candidate, mitt romney, as well as his running mate, paul ryan. host: as far as the ground game for republicans in the state, what do you need to have a place in the state of colorado? guest: the ground game, a typically, you start building it about six months out from the election. clearly, our candidates, mitt romney was still engaged in a primary fight, but they have quickly made up a lot of the ground. you need to have thousands of volunteers in pla